


Only Shooting Stars

by BubuBORG



Series: Team Medi: Gravity and Time [6]
Category: Gravity Falls, Multi-Fandom, Star Trek, TOLKIEN J. R. R. - Works & Related Fandoms, The Hobbit - All Media Types, The Lord of the Rings - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Alternate Universe - Star Trek Fusion, Bill Cipher Is Dead, F/M, Gen, Heist, M/M, Star Trek AU, Team Medi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-26
Updated: 2017-04-02
Packaged: 2018-09-27 03:31:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,075
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9950837
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BubuBORG/pseuds/BubuBORG
Summary: Josh runs a few errands.  Ford continues his Middle-earth fan fest.





	1. Here is the News

Captain Joshua Maurice Reid-LeBeau was bored.

 

All he heard since he came back from Bag End last night was Ford Pines geek out about every single thing Elvish.  God help him, Josh suspected that he played that role-playing game that the Turtles had gotten started on the _Medi_.  Dungeons, Dungeons, Dungeons or whatever. 

Fortunately for him, Elrond had a seemingly infinite amount of patience for the multitude of questions that Dr. Pines had for him.  Fíli wasn’t kidding.  Then again, Josh knew, there was a clear distinction between one being patient and one being patronizing.  With the Quendi, it was a fine, fine line.  

He stood outside of the compound of the Last Homely House in Rivendell, which was in fact comprised of several not-at-all homely houses and buildings which had sprung up in the years since Elrond decided to continue to make Middle-earth his home in residence.  One of the many waterfalls that cascaded into the valley was right next to him as he stood and looked up at the sky.  Nowadays, ships orbiting the planet of Arda could be seen as twinkles as they passed by, to say nothing of the New Gondolin station, still under construction.

“Captain,” a voice called from behind him.  Josh turned his neck to find Elrond’s son Elladan coming up to him.  

“Dan!” Josh exclaimed, and gregariously opened his arms wide.  Elladan grinned and the two hugged.  

“It’s been a while,” Josh said.  “I thought you were still on Rigel IX.”

“I was, up until a fortnight ago,” Elladan replied.  “Elrohir grew homesick.”

“Of course he did,” Josh said with a chuckle.  “Doctor Pines hasn’t put you off too much, I hope?”

“Not at all,” Elladan replied.  “It’s been a while since we’ve found another non-elf to be as knowledgable about our history.  And so excited about it; it’s refreshing.”

Josh nodded, and then a mischievous look crossed his face.  “So no morning bathing in the fountains for Stanford?” 

Elladan looked blankly at Josh for a moment before his shoulders drooped.  “Not to my knowledge.  He’s also abstained from our wines, if you wish to know.”

The two chuckled.  “I shouldn’t be doing this,” Josh confided, “But I’m going to be taking some liberties with my stay on Arda this time.  Stanford Pines seems to be on a personal mission, and I’m pretty much babysitting him to keep him from getting in too much trouble.”

“He has inquired several times of my father Lord Elrond of devices that were remainders of Numenor of old,” Elladan admitted.  “They seem to be of value to him.”

Josh nodded.  “He hired two Khazad to help him steal one of those devices from a vault in Dolare,” he told the Elf, “Though thankfully Gomphor lent it to him after the fact.”  Josh sighed.  “A man who would steal something he would otherwise ask for is desperate.”

Elladan nodded.  “Why do you think that is?”

Josh looked down, at the water crashing into the river below.  “He’s gone to desperate lengths to get himself and his twin brother into this time period.  It’s almost as if he was running away from something…or someone.”

“It sounds like you have your own mission to solve,” Elladan noted.

Josh glanced at him.  “You’re right.  Adam did his part with Stanley Pines, and Buffi did her part with bringing both M’ret and this alternate Thorin here.  Now it’s my turn with Stanford.”

“So where do you go next?” Elladan asked.

 

“I need to pay the Lonely Mountain a visit,” Josh replied.  “He talked about an inter-dimensional army, and that spooked the hell out of Dr. Science.  In fact—Elladan, have the Elves ever heard of the Army of the Yellow Eye?”

Elladan frowned and shook his head.  “The Eye of Sauron, certainly, but a Yellow Eye sounds…too vague to know for certain.  However…”

“Yes?” Josh asked.

“We often seek answers to existential questions in our dream state,” Elladan explained.  The higher of us from the elder age—Galadriel, Gil-Galad, Glorfindel, even—could snatch answers from the ether while attaining that higher state.  We do so with diminished returns.  But I remember when my mother, the lady Celebrian, went into the dreamscape, long long ago, and came back with a vision of dread.  She crossed path with another…not like us at all.  Its dimensions, she said, was simple, revealing itself as a simple flat shape with a single, unblinking Eye.  Not Sauron’s flaming eye, but a jovial one, which hid even deeper horrors.”

“Did it have a name?” Josh asked.

“She did not trust it to give its true name,” Elladan replied.  “And while she recovered eventually, it was long a time before she attempted the dream-journey again.”

 

“Anything that would spook one of you—and I’m sorry, by the way—Is certainly worthy of sufficient worry,” Josh said, finally.  “So this is what I want you to do—consider this a dry run…”

 

***

 

Ford looked at the murals.  The the ones depicting Sauron fighting Gil-galad and Isildur.  

There was a statue which seemed to be presenting something that was no longer there.  The shards of what once was Narsil, but now was renamed Anduril.

 

“I’m going to make this all worth it,” he muttered to himself.  “I swear I will, Stanley.”

 

“Is someone there?” a clear female voice rang out.  

“Er, yes,” Ford replied.  “I apologize, I thought I was by myself in here.”

The woman revealed herself as she came around on the other side of the statue.  She gazed at Ford serenely, and smiled faintly.  “These chambers are for all to enjoy and ponder.  Have you traveled far?”

Ford laughed scoffingly.  “You could say that, ma’am.”

“You’ve arrived with Joshua,” she surmised.  “You’re from Earth.”

“Yes.”

She turned her head back to the statue, her dark hair fluttering behind her.  “I was speaking to the Romulans.  They are suspicious of my father’s hospitality, despite all the lengths that he has gone to to secure them to his home.  I did not expect it.”

“If I understand correctly, they come from a culture that cannot trust open gestures,” Ford offered.  

“So unlike their brethren from Vulcan,” the elf lady sighed.  “Have you been to Vulcan?”

Ford shook his head.  “I’m sure I will…”

“…After.” She finished, and nodded.  “My manners, I’m sorry.  I’m—”

“I’m well aware who you are, Lady Arwen,” Ford said.  

“Is Joshua with you?  I haven’t had a chance to talk with him since…since we fought the rogue Utrom and his Exxians.”

Ford cocked his head.  “I—well, he’s…around.”

“He’s probably getting bored,” Arwen suggested.  “He’s never been the type to enjoy Elvish hospitality for long.  His excitement is more…kinetic.”

“He’s agreed to help me on one of my endeavors,” Ford explained.  

“A quest of some sort?” Arwen asked, 

“Something like that, yes.”

“For Stanley’s benefit?” Arwen asked again.

“Sta-Stanley?” Ford stammered.  He then remembered that he’d spoken his brother’s name aloud.  “Y-yes.  If everything goes the way it’s supposed to, Stanley will be safe.”  Ford looked back at the mural of the battle again.  “And our future will be ours again.”

Arwen looked at a new mural being painted.  It depicted three Starfleet Officers addressing a crowd at Minas Tirith.  Ford could guess which three they were.

“Don’t keep secrets from them,” Arwen said.  “They, more than anyone you will encounter on your quest, will understand the stakes.  They’ve gotten you this far.”

Ford looked at them, and nodded.  Adam found Stanley within CSO.  Ms. K’gar helped him realize that his actions had had consequences.  And Josh…

He knew that any familial resemblance between the Reids and the Pines were purely superficial.  And yet…There was a similar square-jawed likeness with Joshua Maurice and Stanley, in his younger, fresher days.  The way the towheaded captain carried himself.  

Everything Ford admired in his brother, without all the years of baggage.

 

Arwen gazed at Ford with amusement in her eyes, as if to mean she was waiting for him to end his inner dialogue.  A single eyebrow arched up.

“It’s a poor scholar who feels he has nothing more to learn,” Ford finally says to her, before taking his leave.  

“Stanford, wait.”

Ford turned his head back to Arwen.  Her brow was knit as she strode toward him.  “My mother…She once saw something that…I can now see dominating your thoughts.  It took her many years to free herself from that Yellow Eye.  Take this.”

It was a pendant of polished silver, a delicate filigree.

“The silver is said to ward off invasive thoughts and lighten heavy hearts,” she explained.  

Ford nodded.  “Thank you.”

 

Ford left Arwen to walk in the moonlight.  He looked up at the stars.  He had to admit, it had been awhile since he’d seen a different set of stars than one could find on Earth.

Earth…

He squinted and put a hand up in the shape of an L above his head.  He swiveled around, and…

“Ah-ha!  Found her, good old Sol!”  He chuckled.  “Still got it.”

“You know,” a voice said from behind him, causing Ford to start, “Around here, they call her Nessä.”

It was Joshua Maurice.  

“Really?  The Valier of the hunt,” Ford recalled.  

Josh nodded.  “That’s what Adam told me, anyway.  Lo all those years ago.  He had the knowledge of this place down cold.  He was invaluable to me in navigating this strange world.”

Ford turned around to glance at Josh as he continued.  “Y’see, I’ve always felt that you have to have all the foreknowledge at your fingertips before you can make any plan of action.  Adam’s always been more…intuitive.”

“Really?  He didn’t strike me as a man who went by faith,” Ford mused.

“Don’t get me wrong,” Josh said, “He’s got a stone-cold intellect, but he makes these leaps based on his knowledge, and just…I dunno.”

“You must have made quite the team,” Ford said.  

“We still do,” Josh leveled back at him.

“I hope we work just as well,” Ford said, and smiled.

Joshua suddenly seemed restless.  “Night’s still young.  I think we should make for Erebor before morning.  We can check out the nightlife…that is, unless you have a bedtime or anything.”

Ford frowned.  “Has something happened?”

Josh didn’t look Ford in the eye.  “We just…should keep moving.  I was conferring with Elladan and we decided that…we—you and I—might be under watch.”

“By Bill’s Army?” 

“Whatever you wanna call him, or his interdimensional cult, they’ve already announced themselves when that vampire Adam showed up.  And—“

“And you have too much love for Rivendell to bring them here, is that it?” Ford finished.

“Tactically speaking, Minas Tirith is a better place for a confrontation,” Josh explained.  “It has the Gondorian army, as well as the Blue Angels.”

“It has Navy planes?” Ford asked, slightly confused.

 

 

***

 

 

Fíli put the last bouquet down by the grave marker.

 

Eight planters filled with pink and blue flowers at the site.  The large gravestone was the final resting place of Bard I of Dale, benevolent leader and dragonslayer besides.  His son and grandson, Bain and Brand, respectively, also were laid here as well.

The flowers, however, were for Sigrid.

He looked about as the lights in the cemetery began to brighten with a warm light.  The man who accompanied him spoke up.

“You had affection for my great-aunt, didn’t you?”

Fíli chuckled.  “I did.  We missed each other for eight decades—thus, the eight bouquets.”

“Didn’t you have a chance to finally reunite?” Bard II asked.

“The Mannish race tends to be shorter-lived than Dwarrow-kind,” Fíli remarked.  “She was quite elderly, but when we fought back the Exxians, we met one last time.”

The two stood by the grave for a moment.  Fíli looked up suddenly, as if remembering, and fished something out of his pocket.  

It was a round, polished stone.  

He walked gingerly around the potted flowers and placed the stone on the top of the marker, and retreated back to Bard, who looked on with slight confusion.

“Is this a Dwarvish tradition?” he asked Fíli, who shook his head.

“No.  It’s a tradition for a certain few Terrans.  A…friend…visited his family grave not long ago and told me of it.”  

Bard nodded.  “Are the rumors true?” he asked.

“Yes,” Fíli said, a little too quickly.  “Which rumors, though?”

Bard changed track.  “When it was revealed that you and your brother were alive and well, it caused a mild sensation in Dale,” he told Fíli.  “There was speculation that there would be political upheaval in Erebor and that would alter our relations.”

Fíli looked up at Bard with weariness.  “I _know_ where this is going.”

“I just want to know if there’ll be any true concerns.”

“He’s from an alternate universe,” Fíli sighed.  “An alternate universe where he’d already abdicated rule.  Satisfied?”

“For now.”  Bard said.

Before Fíli could bite off any remarks, his comm badge chirped.  “Reid to Dr. Fíli.”

Tapping his badge, Fíli replied. “Fíli here?”

“Doc!  I was hoping you would meet with me for breakfast in the Mountain this morning,” Josh’s voice filtered through.

“I think so.  I’ve just finished my business in Dale,” Fíli replied, looking back up at Bard.

 

***

 

The leather-upholstered chairs were decorated with lace doilies in a tea room deep within the Lonely Mountain.  Dori puttered about with the tea service and finally sat down.  His brother—well, the alternate universe counterpart of his long dead baby brother—leaned forward in his chair as Fíli entered the room.  

Fíli chuckled as he placed a friendly hand on Ori’s shoulder.  “How’s the smothering going?” he asked, _sotto voce_.

“He’s happy as can be,” Ori replied.  “Me?  I’ll give him another week, and then I’ll be wanting to go on a heist with Nori.”

“Well,” Joshua Maurice interjected from Ori’s other side, “This might be your lucky day.”

“Captain,” Dori asked Joshua, “I was told you preferred coffee over tea.”

“Many Starfleet folks do,” Joshua agreed.  “Captain Adam prefers iced tea—sun tea to be exact.”

Dori got back up.  “It was just that—I just got this…this _thing_ , and I was hoping I could experiment upon you.”  Josh looked at what Dori was indicating with his pointing finger and he saw a newly installed espresso machine.  “The knobs and presses and whatnot were exciting to figure out for an old Dwarrow like myself, but I think I could make you a capuchango, no problem!”

“Cappuccino,” Josh corrected.

“Of course, of course.”  As Dori puttered around with the machine, causing it to hiss and sputter, Josh and Ori continued their conversation, with Fíli leaning in to listen.

“We were all there in Gomphor’s chamber when the vampire announced the arrival of this Army,” Josh said to Ori.  “I need to know everything you can tell me about this army, and the creature that they worship.”

Ori frowned.  “Dr. Pines could tell you a lot more than I could—he’s a lot closer to the source, to be honest—“

“Dr. Pines is protecting something—someone, and his objectivity might not allow for straight shooting answers,” Josh retorted.  

“So was I, if you recall,” Ori shot back, as Dori cursed in the background at the espresso machine.  “Or did you not read your Commander K’gar’s report of how I arrived here?”

“I get it.  You were very circumspect about Thorin’s arrival here, until he actually arrived.  And now your mission’s over an’ done with, so you have no reason to lie,” Josh said.  “Right?”

Ori sighed, and splayed his palms outward.  “What do you need to know?”

“Who or what the Yellow Eye _is_ , for one thing,” Josh replied.  

“Your Captain Adam—He is well-versed in the supernatural studies, yes?” Ori asked.  Fíli, who still held silent, had told him as much in previous conversations.

Josh nodded.

“There are hellish dimensions in the multiverse, where demonic creatures of varying power and will emanate,” Ori told them.  They have broken through from time to time, throughout this universe, and have troubled mortal-kind in the past.  It is true on your Earth as it is on this Arda, and my Arda as well.  

“One of those dimensions was home to a particular race of beings who could travel the dreamscapes as you and I travel through waking space.  Their simple appearances hid terrible depths, but were not particularly malevolent.  So the stories go…”

“But this Yellow Eye fellow was different?” Josh presumed.

“Captain, the reason that these stories are second hand,” Ori said, wringing his hands, “Are because nothing remains of his home dimension.  It is obliterated.  It is undone completely.  It’s as if it never was.”

“Are you saying that this creature _destroyed an entire universe_?” Josh said, hushing his tones before Dori got wise to the conversation.

“Once Bill was free of the bonds of his home,” Ori explained, “He saw how flat and mundane his universe was.  It was a two-dimensional reality, you see.”

Josh filled in the blank.  “And once…Bill…was something close to a 90-degree angle to his home, he…”

“ _Smush_ ,” Ori finished, slapping his hands together.  

Fíli shuddered, then finally spoke up.  “Where _is_ Dr. Science?” he asked.

“Wandering the halls, I suppose.  He said he’d be along shortly,” Josh said.  “He’s just like Adam, when he gets in his Arda groove.”

Fíli shook his head.  “Adam has a bit more social élan than our Dr. Pines, I think,” he argued.

Ori was quiet.  There was no Adam Reid III or Joshua Maurice Reid in his universe.  Oh, there was an Adam and Joshua Reid, but they were monsters.

As if summoned, Ford popped his head from around the door frame.  “I let myself in,” he said to Dori, who finally got the cappuccino for Josh.  “I hope that’s all right.”

“Of course,” Dori said, cheerfully.  “Care for something from my espresso machine?”

“I’ve been trying to cut down on my caffeine, but I’ll oblige you,” Ford replied.

Dori smiled and continued with his barista work.

Ford sat down beside Josh, looking slightly fidgety.  Josh thought maybe he should have turned down the coffee.

“Where were we?” Ori asked.

“Smush,” Josh replied.

“Right,” Ori sighed, glancing at Ford, who smiled obliviously.

“You said they traveled the dreamscape,” Josh said, mostly to Ori.  “Did he have the ability to…send messages in dreams?”

Ford caught on quickly.  “Yes, he did,” he replied.  “It was one of the ways I got in contact with him, through lucid dreaming techniques.”

“But passively?” Josh asked.  

“Josh, you seem to be in need of a specific answer,” Fíli noted.  “What’s going on?”

“I had Elladan enter a meditative state,” Josh explained.  “When I was at Rivendell.  He told me that his mother had possibly come into contact with Bill, thousands of years ago.  He was scanning for me for…something, and he found a message.”

Ford leaned in.  “There is no way it could have been Bill, if that’s what you’re intimating, Captain.”

Josh shook his head.  “No.  It was more like a dream-recording, according to Elladan.  He set it into motion, and before either of us knew it, his eyes started to glow yellow and he was singing a song to me.”

“Yes, that’s possible,” Ford confirmed.  What kind of song?”

“It was an old Earth song,” Josh explained.  “About sending a dream to us from the end of the world.”

“Son of a bitch,” Ford cursed.  “That’s an old ELO song.  I have— _had_ that album during the time that I was still in contact with Bill through the dreamscape.  There’s a good chance that message was meant for me.”

“But from whom?” Fíli asked.  “You said yourself, Bill’s destroyed.  Anyone who would send that message for specifically you to receive would have to know both you _and_ Bill.”

Ori frowned.  “The Army knows who their enemies are.  And they’ve studied Bill Cipher to such a degree that they might now be able to tread his old haunts.”

“They’ve _had_ this long to do it,” Ford agreed.  

 

Josh needed more to go on.  And he knew that Ford wouldn’t confide in him with Fíli and Ori nearby.  He needed to formulate a plan.  Thankfully, what Ford had in mind wasn’t directly concerned with the ever looming Army.  True, he still wanted Ori in on the plan, and possibly Fíli to back them up in case things went pear-shaped, but it was a good opportunity to get Ford to spill his guts.

Because Ford was right about Josh:  He didn’t want this Army to come down on Arda, which seemed as a planet to be an innocent bystander in this conflict between Ford and this Bill Cipher.  

And Josh cared about Arda just as much as Adam did.


	2. Getting To The Point

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Josh runs a few errands. Ford continues his Middle-earth fan fest.

Fíli wasn’t going back to San Francisco immediately.  He’d decided to allow Thorin to remain in Bag End until it was time for him to return to his duties.  And it allowed the Master of Bag End and Thorin to get acquainted.  

Fíli was a romantic at heart, after all.  And over the last decade, Bilbo had confided to Fíli of his feelings for the dead King.  Perhaps the two could heal together after all.

In the meantime, there was the opportunity to explore the ‘new’ Erebor.  Like all of Arda, the Lonely Mountain had gotten an infusion of technology gleaned from Numenor of old; The Fourth Age could not be stopped.  He knew that Kíli was inspecting the progress of the New Gondolin station in orbit.  If there was anything that would tear his baby brother from the Antares Shipyards, it would be the prospect of implementing all of his knowledge in the symbol of a United Arda’s future.  

And then there was Ori.  

Ori had witnessed countless dimensions in his walkabout in the Multiverse, had alluded to parallel universes in which he had countless parallel lives, each more unusual than the other.  

He spoke to Fíli of writing his experiences down.  Fíli couldn’t wait to read them.

All this filled Fíli’s thoughts as he sat in an office in Erebor.  It was filled with beautiful carvings and imports from half the quadrant.

As he waited the entrance door opened revealing the impressive form of Dwalin Fundinul himself.  White bearded, bald pate decorated with tattoo markings, but with more refined simplicity than Fíli could remember from his youth.  He grunted his greeting at Fíli as he made way for no less an imposing figure than Fíli could think of.

His mother.

Dís Thrainul held the title of Crown Regis in the Ereborean Royal Court.  Her hair remained mostly dark, with veins of steel-gray showing through, like her brother’s.

“ _Amad_ ,” He said, immediately taking her hands in his and placing a kiss on her cheek.  “How was your visit with him?”

“I didn’t know _what_ to expect, honestly,” she sighed. 

Fíli stole a glance at Dwalin.  He looked concerned as well.  Aside from the immediate family, he was the closest to the late Thorin.

“He…seems to be doing well in the care of Baggins,” Dwalin remarked curtly, with a nod.  “Just as we expected he would.  Good for the both of them, I suspect.”

Dis nodded.  She, too had gotten Bilbo to admit his feelings for her brother.

Fíli looked at them both and asked, “Did you two…you know…drop the bomb about…?”

Dwalin chuckled and took Dis’s hand in his.  “Didn’t have to.  This Thorin’s sharp as ours; he figured it out.”

One could have knocked Fíli and Kíli over with a feather when they received the news that Dwalin and their mother had turned to each other in solace in the absence of themselves and Thorin _and_ Balin— and eventually wed.  

“Brothers-in- _arms_ and Brothers-in- _law_ are two completely different prospects, though, eh, _stepdad_?” Fíli ribbed Dwalin.

“Your Captain Reid—The blond one—said he had a proposal for the Company,” Dwalin rumbled. 

“You’re asking _me_?” Fíli asked.  “They don’t keep me in the loop for their Initiative plans, I’m afraid.  I’m juggling Starfleet Medical and private practice in the Sol system as it is.”  

“My son the doctor,” Dis chuckled.  “Bet you wished you hadn’t abdicated some days.”

“Some days,” Fíli admitted.  _Amad_ never missed an opportunity to tease him about giving up the Throne.  It was mostly good-natured, though.

“However, I’m glad it’s you taking care of him.  I would not relent to anyone else taking him to Earth.”

“Is _that_ why you had Councilwoman K’gar open her home to him?” Fíli asked with a knowing smile on his face.  

“We’re friends, you’re on friendly terms with her daughter, it all works out,” Dis replied.  “And Dunei understands the needs of nobility.”

“It’s good to be the _Diablador_ ,” Fíli said, an oft-quoted saying of Buffi’s.

“As much as it is to be the Crown Regis,” Dis replied.  “Dunei also has a room reserved for myself, as to not require me to inquire into lodgings in San Francisco when Manhattan Island will do.”

“I look forward to your visits,” Fíli said, sincerely.  “You’ve been on my mind of late.”

“Oh?” Dis said, arching an eyebrow.  “Will you tell me about him or her?”

Fíli smiled until his eyes shut.  _Amad_ always knew.  “If there’s something to tell, yes.”

 

To Fíli’s relief, they were interrupted by Joshua popping his head in the entrance.  “Forgive me, Your Grace,” he addressed Dis.  “Your hubby an’ and I have a meeting.”

“Captain,” Dis nodded.  

“An’ Doc?” Josh looked over his shoulder down to Fíli.  “Dr. Science is outside.  Keep him from getting lost?  This won’t take…”

“Do what you have to do, Captain,” Fíli said, noting that Joshua had yet to appear in uniform since he’d engaged in this little adventure.  “I’ll keep Dr. Pines from falling down a mine shaft…”

Dis threw a pointed glance at her son before grabbing his arm and pulling him into a goodbye embrace.  She touched his forehead with her own.  “You may expect my Terran itinerary within the month,” she told him, stroking his cheek.  

“ _Amad_ ,” Fíli sighed.  

“ _Dashat_ ,” Dis replied with a sigh.  “Go.  We will speak of things soon.”

 

Fíli left the Company office and looked out into the hollow center of the Lonely Mountain.  On the other side were other places of commerce and business; in many places, Erebor had gone corporate.  

“Ah, Doctor Fíli!” a familiar voice called to him. He chuckled and turned to find an excited Stanford Pines.  “It’s extraordinary, isn’t it?”

Fíli said nothing but nodded.

“Captain Reid-LeBeau had just told me that the high-speed rail that connects the cities in Middle-earth has a major station here in Erebor,” Ford said.  “A solar farm at the peak, as well as a major communications hub.”

“Engineering lies at the core of our talents,” Fíli said.  “We wouldn’t be who we are if we hadn’t taken advantage of the new technologies.”

“Is that why your brother became an engineer in Starfleet?” Ford asked.

Fíli stammered, “W-well, that’s a tale that’s longer to tell, and I’d have to tell mine in tandem—why don’t we table that one for now?”

“Of course,” Ford said.  “But just for my own knowledge…of your company to Erebor, who’s doing what now?”

“Well, you know of myself and my brother,” Fíli sighed.  “Dwalin runs the Company, as does my mother—in the intervening years, she’s become all but a member of the Company, in _Indâd’s_ absence—“

Ford nodded.

Bofur’s our mining branch, and Bombur’s our engineer-slash-design fellow.  He’s a fine architect as well as a top-notch gourmand.  Together they take care of their cousin Bifur, who is an award-winning toymaker.

“Gloin has retired, happily letting his son Gimli do most of the Company work in the political field, where he sits on Council.  Dori works in planetary trade of goods, and Nori, as you no doubt know, is in acquisitions.”

Ford nodded, but was no longer smiling.  

“Are you all right, there, Dr. Science?” Fíli half-joked.

“I miss them,” Ford admitted.  “My family.”

“You took yourself and your brother away from your time for a reason, Stanford,” Fíli said. He took a step toward him. “You don’t seem ready to tell us why, but, I think you should consider telling our towheaded captain about it.  You can trust him, you know.”

“Trust is something I still struggle with,” Ford said.  “I was in the wilderness of the Multiverse for thirty years, for the most part on my own.  Trust didn’t keep you alive.”

“I’ve been the wilderness myself,” Fíli reminded Ford. “You trust family.  Family you’re born into, the family you find along the way.”

Ford scoffed.  “I can’t even trust myself, Doctor.  If you knew how many versions of myself I saw, like a horrible funhouse—It made me wonder if I was even any kind of good man.”

Fíli looked up at Ford’s face.  The fluffed-up hair, the long sideburns, the big square spectacles, the prominent nose and cleft chin—he studied it all.  He placed a hand along Ford’s face and patted it.  “Oh, you’re good enough,” he said at last.  “You’re no good at keeping lies among honest folk, and you worked for the common good when it came to getting this alternative Thorin here for Ori.  And Stanley spoke well of you.”

“Did he?” Ford said, with more than a bit of surprise.

“Oh, he was annoyed with you to no end for doing whatever you’re doing and not letting him remember any of it—you _will_ have to tell me what you did to him eventually—“ Fíli pivoted, glaring at Ford, remembering his own annoyance. “But at the end of the day, you are his brother and he loves you.”

Fíli found Ford’s own hand on his shoulder and heard sniffling.  He looked back up to find Ford tearing up.  “Thank you,” he said.

 

Never one for too much schmaltz, Fíli asked, “Would this be a bad time to mention that he and I have slept together?”

 

Ford’s hand left Fíli’s shoulder as he began to sputter and stammer.  When he saw Fíli began to chuckle, he began to laugh as well.  “I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised,” Ford said.  “But perhaps you should tell me about your intentions toward my brother.”

Oh.  _Oh_.  It had been awhile since _this_ situation had arisen.  Now it was Fíli’s turn to stammer. “I—well, that is to say—It _happened_.”

“You do have a bit of a reputation,” Ford pressed, “As kind of a libertine.”

Fíli brought himself up to his full height.  “I, sir, am _the_ Libertine of Starfleet Medical!”

“Which brings me back to my original question.” Ford’s eyes was lost in the glare of the torches behind Fíli.

“I consider Stanley to be a friend,” Fíli said.  “He needed companionship of a variety that the Reids could not provide, and we considered each other to be mutually attractive.  So as soon as he was no longer my patient, I extended an offer for him to join me in San Francisco for a week, and we got on rather well.  No strings, no promises, no obligations other than to maybe do it again some time.”

“Oh.” Ford didn’t look shocked or angry, but not quite happy.  “Thank you again, I suppose.”

“I don’t think I answered your question, though,” Fíli continued.  “I _am_ rather fond of him.  I hope he’s finding what he needs out on Deep Space Nine.”

“I think he is,” Ford said, with a sly smile.  “As long has he stays out of too much trouble.”

“Don’t worry, Doctor,” Fíli said.  “I don’t think either Stanley or myself are the marrying kind.  We won’t be in-laws anytime soon.”

 

As Ford was about to speak, Josh and Dwalin exited, chuckling among themselves.  

“So you think we’ll be able to pull it off?” Dwalin asked Josh.  

“I know that we’re stronger together,” Josh replied.  “And with the declassified files I’ve given you about Yonada, you’ll have a blueprint to follow goin’ forward.”

“And it’s still orbiting New Fabrina?” Dwalin asked.  “I can send Bofur and Bombur to tour it?”

Josh nodded.  “New Fabrina enjoys a status similar to Arda.  They’ll be happy to share their story and Yonada with you.”

Josh saw Ford and Fíli looking on.  “Well, I think I got what I came for here under the ol’ mountain,” Josh said. “And a few other folks besides.”  He looked immensely self-satisfied.  “Are you staying on, Dr. Fíli?”

“A couple more loose ends, I should think,” Fíli said.  “Cousin Gori owes me a cask of Klingon Bloodwine, if I’m not mistaken.”

“Then I’ll leave you to it,” Josh replied.  “And we’ll be in touch for what we talked about before.  Dwalin,” Josh turned back to the venerable Dwarf, “You won’t regret this.”

“Time will tell on that,” Dwalin replied, putting his hands up.  

“Dr. Science?” 

Ford stuck his hands in his coat pockets and raised up his chin.  “Ready when you are, Captain.”

 

As Josh and Ford made their way to one of the many lifts built in Erebor to the transit station below, Josh procured a small device and showed it to Ford.  Ford adjusted his glasses.  

“It looks authentic,” Ford muttered.  “However, it’ll have to be checked for data corruption.”

“Dwalin assures me that it’s in pristine condition—just one of those things that the Company’s picked up along the way in their dealings with Bed-Lama.”

 

“So where to next?” Ford asked.

 

 

***

 

 

Ford didn’t have the breath to scream.

 

With Josh holding on to him, both of them wearing protective goggles, Ford found himself shooting across a large swath of Middle-earth to get to a windy plain. in the center of that plain was a new city, build up around a large hill in the center.  When Josh suggested that they bypass the use of an autocab to save on time, Ford foolishly agreed.  He’d forgotten that Josh’s power allowed him to not only fly, but to take on a passenger.  

It wasn’t as exciting as comic-book reading had led him to believe. 

Josh turned himself vertical, and slowly descended onto the hill in the center of the city on the plain.  Ford noticed that the buildings had a somewhat Nordic flair to them.  Banners flew everywhere, like a field of flowers blown by the winds.  

When Ford finally found himself on solid ground, he needed a moment to reacclimatize and wandered in a circle for a bit.  Josh pulled his goggles onto his forehead and put his hands on his hips and took a deep breath.  

“This brand new city, and the hill hasn’t changed a bit.  You know where we are, Doc?” Josh asked.

“Meduseld, if I’m not mistaken,” Ford muttered, shaking his legs.  “Don’t tell me you know the Lord of Rohan?”

“Joshua Falling-star!” a voice exclaimed, as the doors opened.  The guards walked astride the figure.  His blond hair remained short as the day he received his makeover in Limbo, all those years ago before his wedding to the Lady Lothiriel, and perhaps his face had gotten slightly more lined and worn than Josh remembered even further ago when Josh had raced his entire _éored_ across the fields.

“Éomer Eadig, my marshal, my King!” Josh shouted back, and the two embraced as brothers.  

“It’s good timing that you’ve arrived when you did,” Éomer said when the two separated.  “The Medical Research complex of Rohan was where I was last with a special guest.  The man was almost as old as Mr. Baggins, and looked every year of it!”

Josh nodded knowingly.  “It must have been Admiral McCoy,” he said.  “How did he like the hospital?”

“He grudgingly approved of it,” Éomer said.  “It was an interesting meeting, between him and I.  He told me I reminded him of himself when he was much younger.”

Josh looked up, as if suddenly remembering his charge.  “Doctor, this is the King of Rohan.  Éomer Eadig.”

Ford looked very awkward as Éomer strode toward him and stuck out his hand.  “D-Doctor Stanford Pines, good to have your, um, acquaintance.”

“Joshua told me that you are on the search for artifacts of Numenor of old,” Éomer said.  “Joshua asked me to allow you access to the Hornburg, at Helm’s Deep.”

Ford frowned.  “Helm’s Deep?  That’s not exactly what I had in mind, Captain.”

Josh spared a glance at Éomer.  “I think you’ll find that not everything you remember about Helm’s Deep has been public knowledge,” he said.  “We can go at any time?” he asked Éomer.

“It is done.  The contingent there will allow you kingly access.”

Josh nodded.

“Is…Is your sister in town?” he asked.

Éomer sighed.  “No.  She is in Ithilien with her _husband_.”  Éomer glared at Josh, “And my _nephew_.”

Josh threw up his hands.  “It’s jus’ a question.”

“We need to see you wed,” Éomer replied, smiling wickedly.  “My sister-in-law Aniriel is unattached, if you’d like to—what is it—‘talk over coffee’.”

“Nobody believes that me an’ Eowyn can just be friends,” Josh muttered.

“I’d been told that you were removed from command,” Éomer said.  “Were you looking to explore options other than Starfleet?”

“You’d hire me?” Josh said, chuckling.  “You ol’ softie.”

Eomer shrugged.  “At any rate, we can discuss more at dinner if you’re so inclined.”

Josh glanced at Ford, who began to look impatient.  “We’ll see.”

“Oh!” Eomer exclaimed, as if _he’d_ remembered a question.  Gamling—“ Eomer smiled, as he began to correct himself.  “ _Michael_ Gamling.  His son.”

Mike and Joy’s son Théodred was the namesake of Éomer’s cousin.  “The Gamlings are doing all right,” And Josh glanced back at Ford.  “In a place called Oregon.”

“A very nice place,” Ford added.  “In a well constructed cabin.”

 

As Josh turned back toward Ford, the scientist held up a hand.  “If it’s all right, Captain,” he said, “We can take the time to get there by autocab.”

 

The two men sat in the autocab’s cabin, silently as the craft lifted up off the ground and gained altitude.  

“You’ve come to befriend most of the notable people in Middle-earth,” Ford noted.  He didn’t look up from his tapping on his PADD.  

“Well, even after the Arda Mission and the War before that, Adam an’ me have logged the most time on the Medi working with these folks,” Josh replied, looking forward.  “Eomer, we became war-forged.  Dwalin, we worked with mostly when we fought the Exxians.  Gaji in the East, Zanie in the South, L’Rohr in the Thunaar Village—We forged solid connections in our mission to get this planet fully fledged, you know?”

“I’m a bit envious,” Ford said quietly.  “How’d a fellow from Louisiana become friends with Kings and lords, like it wasn’t any big deal?”

Josh’s head whipped around to Ford who still didn’t quite look him in the eye.  “First of all, I met these people when they were just people on the ground.  They became who they became, while I became a Starship Captain.  That’s just what happens.  Second of all,” And Ford saw Josh’s hands clench and unclench.  “ _Don’t_ envy me.  All this?” Josh gestured all around himself.  “Well, let’s just say that Gomphor the Orange isn’t the only one who’s doing penance.”

Ford frowned and looked at Josh.  His carefree expression was gone.  “I don’t believe in pure evil,” Josh said.  “All those creatures that Sauron got to fight on his side—they didn’t all go in willingly.  I don’t—how did he say it—I don’t believe in ‘Always—“

“Always Chaotic Evil,” Ford finished.

“Exactly.  At least I don’t _now_.  When I was first here, I got wrapped up in a war and a particular side.  My Starfleet training should have made me not take any side before considering the stakes.  It should have had me come up with better outcomes other than mass slaughter.  Do I _seem_ happy-go-lucky, Doctor?  Because I am living with _literal_ blood on my hands.”

Ford didn’t know what to say at first.  Josh turned back to looking at the sky.  

“Is that why,” Ford asked at last, “You and Adam have created your Initiative?”

Josh nodded.  “We can avoid the War of the Ring from happening again.  We can save hapless creatures from things like Sauron.  This is within our capability, if we only try to figure out how.  There are no evil species, there are only individuals that do evil acts.”

“So by putting key people in strategic positions—“

“No.  No, no, no,” Josh shook his head.  “I keep butting heads with Adam about this.  This is not about exceptionalism!  This is about putting these heroic people in touch with each other, to make those connections, to not be alone, to solve problems together.”

“That’s a interesting point of view—considering someone with your powers,” Ford noted.  “Some people must have considered you quite the, um…quite the anomaly.”

“I _am_ an anomaly!” Josh proclaimed.  “My powers make me unique, but not exceptional.  It’s what I _do_ with ‘em that’s gotta prove to be exceptional.”  

 

The autocab set down on the landing pad in front of the Burg.  Josh breathed in the air, tinged with grasses and heather.  Ford put his PADD in its pouch inside his jacket.  Josh came around and, without warning, grabbed Ford’s wrist and took his extra finger between his thumb and forefinger.

“Look, I get it,” Josh said, ignoring Ford’s glare.  “Extra finger, extra power—It couldn’t have been easy for you back in the 20th Century.  But you set all this in motion, and you chose this family—Adam and Joy, and me, and the entire _Mediterranean_ extended family—to keep _your_ family safe.”

Ford remained silent.

“So let us help _you_.  You trusted us this far, you can trust us all the way.”

 

The two looked at each other.  Josh’s face was open, his eyebrows arched up, his hand still holding Ford’s finger.  Ford divested himself of that hold and took Josh’s hand in earnest.  

“Are you sure you understand what that means?” Ford asked.  “You barely know me.”

“It’s my job to explore the unknown,” Josh replied back.  “And like the man said, ‘risk is our business’.”

They stood there a moment, before Helm’s Deep.  Ford looked up at the Hornburg, and back at Josh.

 

“Well, Captain,” He said, finally.  “It seems that today, business is good.”

 


End file.
